Gli amanti degli animali sono una speciale razza umana, generosa di spirito, piena di empatia, forse un po’ incline al sentimentalismo, e con cuori immensi come un cielo senza nuvole.

Whatever false sense of security the contraption had once offered us was gone. Each time we left, even for a half hour, we wondered whether this would be the time that our manic inmate would bust out and go on another couch-shredding, wall-gouging, door-eating rampage. So much for peace of mind.

I figli sono come orologi che non si possono ignorare; segnano l’inesorabile marcia della vita attraverso quello che altrimenti sembrerebbe un infinito are di minuti, ore, giorni, e anni.

Children serve as impossible-to-ignore, in-your-face timepieces, marking the relentless march of one’s life through what otherwise might seem an infinite sea of minutes, hours, days, and years.

Life and love with the worlds worst dog.

That’s when it happened. So fast, in fact, that we didn’t even realize it had happened. All we knew was that one instant we were sitting at a lovely outdoor table toasting the beautiful day, and the next our table was on the move, crashing its way through the sea of other tables, banging into innocent bystanders, and making a horrible, ear-piercing, industrial-grade shriek as it scraped over the concrete pavers.

Sometimes it took a dog with stinky breath and bad manners to help us see what really counts in life. Despite all his flaws, Marley had given us a gift that no amount of money could buy. He gave us the gift of total, complete love. He taught us how to give it and how to accept it. When you have love, most of the other pieces fall into place.

In a world of bosses, you are your own master.

Yet by some stroke of almost providential good fortune, he became wanted.

A dog judges others not by their color or creed or class but by who they are inside. A dog doesn’t care if you are rich or poor, educated or illiterate, clever or dull. Give him your heart and he will give you his.